Data storage media are commonly used for storage and retrieval of data, and come in many forms, such as magnetic tape, magnetic disks, optical tape, optical disks, holographic disks, cards or tape, and the like. Magnetic tape media remains an economical medium for storing large amounts of data. Accordingly, magnetic tape cartridges, or large spools of magnetic tape are often used to back up large amounts of data for large computing centers.
Organizations often utilize a library system to store and transfer data to and from hundreds or thousands of tape cartridges. In general, a library system comprises a number of tape cartridges, one or more tape backup drives, a robotic mechanism for changing tape cartridges, magazines or slots to hold the tape cartridges, and software for controlling access to and tracking physical inventory of tape cartridges. The software maintains a database for tracking physical inventory of tape cartridges in the library system. In particular, the software maintains the database for tracking tape cartridges which store data to backup and restore applications so that applications can be recovered if a system failure or disaster occurs. However, tape cartridges which store data that is unlikely to be accessed often are sometimes stored in off-site storage facilities and may not be tracked within the database.
The end user normally receives tape cartridges and the volume/serial (VolSer) number for each cartridge from a manufacturer or distributor. Typically, the manufacturer or distributor provides a label and initialization (L&I) service for applying a barcoded volume/serial (VolSer) number on the tape cartridges. The VolSer number is unique to the library system and may be used to track physical inventory of the tape cartridges within the library system. However, the VolSer number is only unique within the library system, i.e., the VolSer number may not be unique at off-site storage facilities.
Conventional tape cartridge architectures, such as Linear Tape Open (LTO) and Titanium, utilize a high frequency, e.g., 13 MHz, radio frequency identification (RFID) tag for quick communication with the drive to track usage data, such as the last four drive mounts, recent performance data, and the amount of information stored on the cartridge. For example, each time a tape cartridge is loaded or unloaded from a drive, the library system may read the RFID tag and store the read data in the database. The RFID tag may be affixed to or within the housing of the tape cartridges.
Storage industry trends are creating requirements for physical, encryption, and disaster recovery protection against threats to stored data, such as government, financial, and medical data. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that all public corporations that trade their stock in the United States must store or retain all transactions that go into financial statements for a period of time, e.g., 5-10 years or longer. Failure to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley can result in significant financial penalties and criminal charges. Consequently, a large amount of new data will be generated to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, but this data may only be needed in the case of an audit. Thus, there is a growing importance for tracking physical inventory of tape cartridges, and other data storage media, within a library system and off-site storage facilities.